LAS VEGAS – Following Wednesday’s UFC 130 presser, UFC president Dana White spent an additional half-hour speaking with a small group of reporters, and the fiery exec opened up regarding numerous topics.

Among the most interesting were the futures of Brock Lesnar and Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, the plan for the 14th season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” and the continued shuffling of the UFC’s lightweight division.
“TUF” coaches still a work in progress

With “The Ultimate Fighter 14″ set to begin filming in less than two weeks, the promotion has yet to announce which two fighters will serve as opposing coaches. There’s a good reason for that, White said: They don’t know yet.

“Not yet,” White said when asked if he had yet selected the coaches. “When I was driving here, I was on the phone working on that. There’s things that I want to do, and I’m trying to do them. We’ll see how it all plays out.”

UFC brass had originally hoped to pair Chael Sonnen against Michael Bisping in what surely would have provided TV gold. But with Sonnen’s recent suspension, the UFC was forced to scramble.

With a myriad of rumors floating around, White did rule out the possibility of St-Pierre and Diaz serving in the role.

As for who might serve as coaches, White said it doesn’t necessarily have to be anyone hoping for a title shot or tat the company owes airtime. Instead, it’s more about finding the proper fit for the show.

“It’s not a reward,” White clarified. “What we do is we look for guys that could go in and actually teach younger guys some stuff. They come in, and they bring in a team, and they mentor these younger guys.”

White optimistic for Lesnar’s return, says champ “in a good place”

June’s UFC 131 event took a massive hit when former heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar was forced to withdraw from a planned No. 1 bout with Junior Dos Santos.

Stricken with a second case of diverticulitis, the same life-threatening illness that he battled in 2009, Lesnar’s fighting future isn’t yet known.

However, White said he recently spoke with the former professional wrestling superstar, and he appears to be in a good place, mentally.

“I talked to him a few days ago,” White said. “His head’s in a good place.”

White said a Thursday visit to the doctor will reveal more on Lesnar’s exact condition and recovery prognosis. But just as Lesnar has insisted retirement is not even an option, White remains optimistic that the heavyweight will return in early 2012.

“He has an appointment tomorrow at the Mayo Clinic,” White said. “He’s going to make some decisions as to what he’s going to do, but he’s in a good place right now.

“This black cloud hanging over the heavyweight division, I feel optimistic about it. I think it’s going to turn out well for [Lesnar], and I’m hoping we can get him back by the first of the year.”

Despite recent losses, “Cro Cop” will fight again

Former PRIDE grand prix winner Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic remains a legendary figure in MMA, but a pair of back-to-back knockout losses left many fight fans wondering if the 36-year-old Croatian was ready to hang up the gloves.

Following “Cro Cop’s” UFC 128 loss to Brendan Schaub, White even admitted he was among those who felt Filipovic was best served by retirement. Today, however, White said Filipovic will instead fight again.

“This guy wants to fight again, and I owe him another fight,” White said.

the UFC boss refused to change his stance on what he felt was best for Filipovic. But White said he doesn’t believe the kickboxing specialist is in the same position UFC Hall of Famer Chuck Liddell occupied following a 1-5 stint to end his career.

In that situation, White stepped in and essentially coerced his good friend into walking away from competition. White said he has an opinion on “Cro Cop,” but he also has a deal in place that he feels obligated to honor.

“Do I think that he should have retired?” White asked. “Yeah. But I don’t think he’s in one of these situations where I felt Chuck Liddell needed to retire right then.

“Listen, [Filipovic] is a grown man, and if he wants to continue to fight, that’s his right, and he still has a fight with me.”

Of course, the UFC always reserves the right to release fighters following a defeat. However, that won’t happen here, White insisted.

“We have a deal,” White said. “‘Cro Cop’ and I made a deal, and ‘Cro Cop’ wants to fight again, so I’m going to honor my deal.”

Pettis now two fights from belt, Edgar-Maynard III date not yet determined

Perhaps no one was more frustrated at Edgar and Maynard’s UFC 125 draw than the WEC’s final champion, Anthony Pettis. “Showtime” was promised a shot at the winner of the Janaury matchup, but when one emerged, he was forced to make a decision – wait on the sidelines or take another fight.

Pettis chose to fight on, and he’ll now face Clay Guida at The Ultimate Fighter 13 Finale. As it turns out, Pettis decision was probably for the best, as injuries to both Edgar and Maynard saw that fight delayed until later this year.

The bad news for Pettis? A win over Guida doesn’t assure him an immediate title shot. White admits the situation is unfortunate, but he figured Pettis will probably need to fight once more should he beat Guida while the rest of the division shakes out.

“That kid’s in a bad position,” White said. “He’s supposed to be the next in line. All this craziness happens. [Edgar and Maynard] both get hurt, and it gets pushed back again. The first one is a draw, then they get hurt, and it gets pushed back again. But this is one of those things that happens in a sport like this.

“I respect [Pettis] for stepping up and taking on a tough guy like Guida, and he’ll probably have to fight again before he gets a shot at one of those guys. Sucks for him. It’s a [expletive] position for him to be in.”

As for Edgar-Maynard III, White said he’s not sure when that fight will happen. White said he’ll check on both fighters’ status in the next six-to-eight weeks, and the fight will then take place as quickly as possible.

“As soon as they’re ready, we’ll figure it out,” White said. “It’s going to depend on how long it takes these guys to heal – at the latest, eight weeks. They should be able to start training in eight weeks, both of them. Maybe six.”
Aldo’s return date not guaranteed

The MMA world was shocked to learn this past week that UFC featherweight champion Jose Aldo had withdrawn from a tentative UFC 133 fight with undefeated challenger Chad Mendes.

Some were even more shocked when Mendes elected to take a fight with Rani Yahya at UFC 133 rather than wait on the champ’s return, which Aldo’s camp insisted would be in September.

Today, White said there simply is no guarantee the champ would return by that date.

“That’s a good question, and I honestly don’t know the answer to that one,” White said when asked by MMAjunkie.com for an update an Aldo’s status. “He is hurt. He’s got a problem with his shoulder.”

Aldo’s camp previously declined to name the nature of the injury but did say the champ was currently beginning six weeks of rehab. Today, White revealed that might not be the end of the line for the Brazilian slugger, which is why Mendes elected to stay busy rather than wait and hope.

“I think that the confusion might be that they don’t know if [Aldo] is going to have to have surgery yet or not,” White said. “He’s going to try and rehab it, and then we’ll see if he’s going to have to have surgery.”
“Dark era” DVDs unlikely to see the light of day

Hardcore UFC fans are among the most avid collectors of DVDs on the planet, with many enthusiasts boasting near-complete libraries of every UFC event ever held.

Unfortunately for U.S.-based fans, a number of events have never been released on DVD.

While in recent years, Lions Gate issued UFC 1 through UFC 12, UFC 13 through UFC 38 have never appeared on disc in the U.S. White said fans clamoring for the titles shouldn’t expect them anytime soon, if ever.

However, the UFC boss did make an offer that he may soon regret. Send him an email, White said, and he’ll just burn the damn things for you.

“I get asked that question all the time,” White told MMAjunkie.com. “We do (own the footage). What happened was, when we bought the company and we started making the DVDs, there were some that we went back that we thought were good enough titles.

“You’re talking about a group of people this big that collect the whole series. I’d like to know how big that number really is, and I’d rather just burn some [expletive] DVDs for them and give them to them. You go out, and you try and product these DVDs in that era of time, there’s no shelf space (in stores). It’s impossible to get out there and sell them.

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